


How Much?

by Greensleeves



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 09:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5412416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greensleeves/pseuds/Greensleeves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hearth is going away to Asgard with Odin for a couple of days. While he’s away, Blitz decides to get the apartment in order. Well, part of the apartment, anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Much?

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this fic doesn't follow the timeline set in the Sword of Summer. The Magnus Chase series and characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Hearthstone and Blitzen were standing near the entrance to the Hotel Valhalla. Odin had welcomed them to stay the night there before he took Hearth off to Asgard. Hearth was grateful for that—he’d been exhausted after using so much magic to subdue Fenris Wolf.

 _What are you going to do while I’m away? Get the store organized?_ Hearth asked Blitz.

Blitzen raised and lowered his hands palms up: _Maybe._

Hearth didn’t respond. He didn’t want to leave Blitz. After all they’d been through the past week . . .

He thought about the contest between Blitz and Junior. Sure, Hearth had been encouraging, but he knew what Blitz was like under pressure, and it had filled his heart with dread. Luckily, Magnus and Sam had saved the day.

And then the Wolf had attacked Blitz. If it hadn’t been for his chainmail ascot, he would’ve been dead. If that had happened, Hearth probably would have done something reckless like attack the Wolf. Then they would have both been dead.

Blitz waved his hand to regain Hearth’s attention.

_I will miss you._

_I will miss you too,_ Hearth replied.

A large barrel-chested man entered Hearth’s field of vision: Odin, the All-Father.

He gestured to Hearth, and though it wasn’t Alf Sign Language, his meaning was clear: _It’s time to go._

Hearth nodded to him and turned back to Blitz. He desperately wanted to kiss his boyfriend goodbye but showing that much affection with a god standing nearby was not something Hearth felt comfortable doing.

He settled for a quick hug instead.

After pulling back, they said goodbye.

 _Don’t have too much fun without me,_ Blitz signed.

_I won’t._

***

 

Blitzen stood on Newbury Street staring at the large brick building in front of him. It had two large bay windows on either side of the entrance, one of which was actually a part of the unit Blitz now owned.

The transaction had been fairly simple: Odin had tipped him off on a store being sold by an elf on Newbury Street when he’d overheard him telling his friends about his plans. A few emails, a phone call, and a brief meeting at a coffee shop after Blitz left the Hotel Valhalla later, and Blitz had his own storefront with an attached apartment for two.

Blitzen couldn’t believe his good fortune.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, the dwarf fumbled around in his pocket for the key and opened the door. After switching on the lights he looked around.

It had been a clothing store previously that was for sure. There were a couple of bare mannequins in a corner and shelves and clothing racks lined the walls. A round checkout counter with a grey stone top occupied the center of the space.

Blitz nodded his heading approvingly. This would do just fine.

 _Now, what does the apartment look like?_ he wondered.

A set of double doors at the back of the store lead into a storage room. Blitz mistakenly walked into a broom closet before he found the stairs to the apartment.

Greeting Blitz at the top of the stairs was a sleek and modern kitchen that flowed seamlessly into an equally posh living room. He ran his hand along the white-quartz countertop, disbelief etched across his face.

He speculated briefly if Odin talking to the elf over the phone had something to do with the apartment coming fully furnished. He didn’t dwell on that thought.

Down the hall were a bathroom and two bedrooms. Both bedrooms were quite dull, especially compared to the stylish living area.

_Ugh, beige._

On the plus side, the bedroom overlooking Newbury Street had a small balcony allowing the weak January sunlight to stream through the sliding glass door.

An idea began to form in Blitz’s mind.

He knew what he’d do while Hearth was away, and it had nothing to do with clothes.

 

***

 

Hearth collapsed onto his bed and covered his face with his hands. He was absolutely exhausted, mentally and physically, from his day with Odin.

To begin with, crossing the rainbow bridge Bifrost to Asgard would have been completely terrifying if Hearth hadn’t been with the All-Father. Odin had warned him Bifrost was fugacious, but Hearth hadn’t quite grasped the idea that the bridge just randomly faded out of existence to reappear at a different place until it happened under his feet. It trembled as they crossed and began disappearing as he and Odin neared the end. Thank the gods they were off before it changed location.

And when they stepped through the colossal white ramparts and Hearth saw Asgard for the first time . . . well, the city had been a sight to behold.

Hearth gazed about in wonder. Few mortals got to see the city of the gods, though everyone had heard tales of the place. The stories didn’t do Asagrd justice. The city screamed of wealth and abundance: towering palaces with roofs of silver lined streets paved with gold, white stone towers in the distance spiraled high into the clouds, and each garden was large enough to be its own nature preserve.

Yes, it sparkled like a sea of diamonds, but something was lacking. There was no movement in the streets, save a few ravens hopping along following Odin. No Aesir or Asynjur were bartering with each other. No musicians sat back in tight corners playing harps and horn pipes. The braziers were cold. Gardens were overgrown.

Hearth tapped Odin’s shoulder to get his attention.

 _Where is everyone?_ he signed.

Odin sighed. “After I disappeared two years ago to masquerade as the half-troll X, the other gods began growing quiet. Some may be slumbering while others are most likely off preparing for Ragnorak. I’m hoping that my reappearance in Asgard will bring back.”

The pair continued their walk through the city, passing one abandoned building after another until they reached Odin’s palace Valaskialf.

Immediately after they arrived at Valaskialf, Odin began his tutoring session on magic.

Learning magic from the All-Father was something Hearth hadn’t even dared to dream of. And now it was an experience he’d never forget.

After his ninety-minute seminar (plus PowerPoint!), Odin had insisted on a practical training session out in one of the palace’s many courtyards. Hearth now knew the secret to casting runes without overwhelming himself and how to sustain a difficult spell for an extended period of time.

Hearth rubbed his eyes from where he lay on his bed. It was his life’s ambition to learn magic. He felt full, _alive_ even, when he performed magic. There was only one other thing—person, that is—that could make him feel like that.

 

***

 

“What are you—hey!”

“Mallory, paint the walls, not Magnus, if you please.”

Mallory smirked as Magnus attempted to wipe Glidden paint from his forehead. Blitz shook his head and continued painting around the sliding glass door.

Blitz had recruited the inhabitants of floor nineteen to help paint and put together furniture for Hearth’s bedroom. Mallory, Magnus, and Blitz were painting while Halfborn and T.J. attempted to put together a reclaimed wood bedframe.

“Are you sure they wrote these instructions correctly?” Halfborn asked T.J. from their spot in the middle of the room

The former Union soldier raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one with a Ph.D. I’m pretty sure we can figure out how to build a bed.”

Everyone was working away at their assigned tasks when the doorbell rang.

“Oh, good!” said Blitz standing straight. “I’ll go get the pizza. Will you finish this wall for me, T.J.?”

After handing off his paintbrush to T.J., Blitz grabbed his wallet and dashed downstairs. The college-age delivery girl handed over the pizzas with very few words before collecting her payment and hurrying away.

Blitz took the food upstairs to four hungry einherjar. They scarfed down the pizza quicker than you could say “Valhalla.” Not to mention, their table manners were as appalling as Magnus’s fashion sense.

Blitz took his plate into the kitchen and retrieved a soda from the fridge. “Would anyone like another soda before we finish up the bedroom?”

Mallory raised her hand, “I’ll”—she let out a high-pitched hiccup causing Magnus and T.J. to stifle laughter—“take one.”

The rest of the evening was spent putting together furniture, bickering over what Pandora station they should be listening to, and running to and from the kitchen getting drinks. Blitz thanked the einherjar profusely for helping out as they left.

“No problem, Blitz,” Magnus said and wrapped the dwarf in a hug before heading off into the night with his friends.

Blitz locked the door before going upstairs. There was more he needed to do before Hearth got home the next day, but it would have to be done in the morning.

 

***

 

Hearthstone was left alone to his thoughts as he exited Copley Station and began walking to Newbury Street. What had Blitz done while he was away? Had Blitz even missed him? Hearth certainly had missed Blitz. Asgard was nice, but it would’ve been better if his significant other had been by his side. (And, you know, it hadn’t been completely deserted.)

Hearth kept an eye on the house numbers as he walked along Newbury Street until he came across the one that matched the address Blitz had given him before they’d separated. He walked right up to the door and tried the handle. Locked.

He peered through the glass. Blitzen appeared to be hunched over at a counter in the middle of the store. Hearth pressed the doorbell, and Blitz looked up a smile immediately lighting up his face. He rushed over to the door and let Hearth in.

Blitz began signing as soon as Hearthstone had stepped inside. _How was it?_

 _Odin, Asgard, or magic?_ Hearth replied.

_All three._

Hearth gave him an account of what his past twenty-four hours had been like, from crossing the Bifrost Bridge to Odin’s PowerPoint presentation. (A short account, considering so many of the words he needed to use didn’t have signs.)

_What did you do? Work on some new fashion designs?_

Blitz suppressed a smile. _No._

Hearth furrowed his brows. _What?_

_Come with me._

And with that, Blitzen grabbed Hearth’s hand and began pulling him toward the back of the store. They went up a flight of stairs into an apartment. Blitz picked up a black pith helmet with matching netting as they walked through a modern kitchen, past a living room, and down a hallway. Blitz finished his march in front of a closed door. He gestured to it.

_Go in._

_Alright,_ Hearth thought to himself. _It’s going to be a bedroom. What’s the big deal—_

_Wow._

Everything about the room before him was earthy: the moss green walls, the distressed wood furniture, even the overhead light which seemed to be made of glass leaves. A large tree decal took up the entire wall behind the bed.

Hearth walked toward the cream-colored curtains at the opposite end of the room and pulled them open to reveal a door that led to a small balcony overlooking Newbury Street. He opened the sliding-glass door and stepped outside pulling his scarf tight around his face as he did so.

A smile tugged at his lips. So _this_ is what Blitzen had done while he was away. Who had helped him, though? The dwarf certainly could not have done this all by himself in such a short amount of time.

Hearthstone felt a tap on his arm. Blitz had come outside wearing his protective pith helmet.

Hearth was the first to sign: _This is what you did while I was away?_

Blitz grinned. _I had help._

A slight breeze made Hearth shiver despite his layers of clothing. He signed: _Cold. Go inside._

Blitz nodded, and they went back into the apartment. Hearth closed the curtains so Blitz could take off his helmet.

 _Well,_ he asked, _do you like it?_

 _Yes._ Of course he liked it. It reminded him of the springs and summers he’d spent in Midgard and every good thing about his birthplace Alfheim.

 _How much?_ Blitz signed.

Hearth tilted Blitz’s face up toward his and gave him the kiss they hadn’t been able to share before being parted. Blitz’s arms wrapped around Hearth and pressed against his shoulders. It was an earnest sort of kiss filled with the things neither had ever said.

Hearth was the one who pulled back giving himself enough room to sign.

_That much._

**Author's Note:**

> This fic came together so easily; it was astounding. I did spend an incredible amount of time looking up home decor and ASL, though.  
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked it! Please do leave me a comment; any feedback is greatly appreciated.


End file.
